February182017

discrimination in Iran

There are discamintory laws. For example the president of Iran can only be a Usuli Twelver Shia. Same goes for high ranking military commanders and so on. It’s not in law that high ranking military commanders have to be shia, unlike the president, but it’s highly unlikely that a non-shia will become the commander of Iranian military. Hopefully laws like that will be removed.

Anonymous asked:

What about within the society is there any discrimination? Also is it safe for a gulf country citizen to visit?

Not any that I have ever heard of on a person to person level. Government and people are two separate things. If you come to Iran, you will be treated good, no matter where you are from. There are countless articles online about people who have visited and have loved the treatment and the people.

Anonymous asked:

But what about attacking the Saudi embassy? It was done by the people not the government.

June272015

I interrupted Obama because we need to be heard

Pride celebrations of the LGBTQ community are taking place throughout the nation. The community takes great pride in celebrating our diversity and the progress we have made throughout the years. However, for the immigrant LGBTQ community progress has not been fully realized because of the continuous discrimination and violence we face in our daily lives.

I was fortunate to be invited to the White House to listen to President Obama’s speech recognizing the LGBTQ community and the progress being made. But while he spoke of ‘trans women of color being targeted,’ his administration holds LGBTQ and trans immigrants in detention. I spoke out because our issues and struggles can no longer be ignored.

Immigrant trans women are 12 times more likely to face discrimination because of our gender identity. If we add our immigration status to the equation, the discrimination increases. Transgender immigrants make up one out of every 500 people in detention, but we account for one out of five confirmed sexual abuse cases in ICE custody.

The violence my trans sisters face in detention centers is one of torture and abuse. The torture and abuse come from ICE officials and other detainees in these detention centers. I have spoken with my trans immigrant sisters who were recently released from detention centers. With a lot of emotional pain and heavy tears in their eyes, they opened up about the horrendous treatment they all experienced. Often seeking asylum to escape threats of violence because of their gender identity and sexuality, this is how they’re greeted in this country. At times misgendered, exposed to assault, and put in detention centers with men.

Last night I spoke out to demand respect and acknowledgement of our gender expression and the release of the estimated 75 transgender immigrants in detention right now. There is no pride in how LGBTQ immigrants are treated in this country and there can be no celebration with an administration that has the ability to keep us detained and in danger or release us to freedom.

It is heartbreaking to see how raising these issues were received by the president and by those in attendance. In the tradition of how Pride started, I interrupted his speech because it is time for our issues and struggles to be heard. I stood for what is right. Instead of silencing our voices, President Obama can also stand and do the right thing for our immigrant LGBTQ community.

July112013

December122012

“‘Let me say this loud and clear: lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are entitled to the same rights as everyone else. They, too, are born free and equal,’ Mr. Ban said at a special event on the need for leadership in the fight against homophobia, held at UN Headquarters in New York. ‘It is an outrage that in our modern world, so many countries continue to criminalize people simply for loving another human being of the same sex. In most cases, these laws are not home-grown. They were inherited from former colonial powers,’ he added, noting that ‘these laws must go.’ ...Speaking from her experiences as a South African woman born under apartheid, Ms. [Yvonne] Chaka Chaka [musician, singer and campaigner] said that the fight against homophobia was no different from the fights against racism and sexism. ‘The struggle for equality is not a la carte. You can’t just accept equality for some but then withhold it from others because you disagree with them or you disapprove of them. Equality is equality for all or it isn’t equality at all,’ she said, in addition to calling for more celebrities to take a stand against homophobia.”